Work Text:
Things I Didn’t Mean to Do…
“So….”
“So…?” Jack O’Neill glanced up and away from the rather mundane subject of his idle stare—a water droplet on the smooth cement floor—and to the now idle hands that only moments before had been adjusting his tie. “So, what, Carter?”
A small sigh escaped Samantha Carter as her hands, each still holding an end of Jack’s navy blue tie, came to rest on his chest. “It’s just— ”
“Carter,” he prompted, his tone a warning. “Out with it.”
“Okay,” she sighed audibly, her hands moving as if to continue their task, but dropping back as they lost their will and she let slip her vulnerability. “Do you remember what happened the last time that you set foot on this planet?”
“Remember…. Hmmm…. ” His eyes drifted to the ceiling and then came back to her as he shook his head. “Not a clue.”
Sam’s wide blue eyes went even wider and her jaw dropped slightly. “Jack—”
“Kidding,” Jack chuckled, his hands clapping her upper arms and gently giving them a squeeze. And with both hands he then grabbed for his tie as she feigned choking him. “Geez, lighten up, Carter.”
“Don’t,” she warned, shaking a finger at him as she moved away and slipped into the chair behind her desk. “We didn’t know where you were, what had happened, how we’d get you back… and then with that head injury, I thought--” she expelled a breath as she ducked her head, trying to avoid his eyes and the memory.
“Well, to be fair, I didn’t mean to get conked on the head and drugged by a hillbilly Goa’uld, Carter,” Jack shrugged.
“And, if you recall, none of those things would have happened, had you followed the plan that we devised,” Sam quirked an eyebrow at him, before opening the folder on her desk, feigning interest in the information before her.
“Aww, c’mon,” he murmured. Contritely, he trailed after her, pausing behind her chair as he let his arms slip around her. He dropped his head to her left shoulder. “You know I like to tease.” He leaned closer, gently shifting her long blonde hair aside so he could nuzzle her neck. The clean, light floral scent she wore—which was so Carter—along with the hitch in her breath and the warm skin beneath his lips was doing something to him. He ducked his head even closer, whispering in her ear. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Me, too,” she pouted. “It’s just that I’ve kinda gotten used to having you around.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, pulling it close, placing a kiss in his palm. She twisted her chair, her eyes lifting to his. “You could’ve been killed, you know, Jack.” She shook her head, holding her hands up as she watched the protest form on his face. “I know what you’re going to say: ‘This isn’t the same.’ But I don’t care. You’re going with an armed escort and this time, you are definitely NOT veering off of the established plan,” she shot him a warning glare. “I just… worry, that’s all.”
“Carter, I’m a big boy,” he said softly, and ignoring his protesting knee, he knelt before her chair, taking her hands in his and giving them a squeeze.“I’ll be fine. I promise.” He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then straightened with a shrug. “Besides, in the end, we caught old…. uh,” he frowned. “What’s-his-name… didn’t we?”
“General Carter?” A brief knock interrupted them,
“Chief Master Sergeant, what is it?” Sam turned her seat toward the now open door.
“Walter,” Jack nodded.
“Oh, sorry, ma’am, sir. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Walter nodded, his eyes traveling to his former boss. “Good seeing you, sir. Hope you’ve been well.”
“Oh, you know the knees…” Jack shook his head. “Always with the knees. A bit with the back occasionally. With the weather.”
“You needed something?” Sam prompted, shooting Jack a look.
“Oh, yes, ma’am. There’s a subspace message. From Dr. Jackson.” Walter tipped his head. “Control room.”
“Thank you,” Sam nodded. “I’ll be right there.” She stood as Walter exited, shooting a glance at Jack.
“I’ll come along for the ride,” Jack remarked, glancing at his watch. “Besides, it’s almost time for me to head out anyway.”
Sam pursed her lips and nodded, steeling herself as she reached for the knob.
“I’ll be fine, Carter,” Jack reiterated softly. “Seriously. I still know how to take care of myself in the field. Black ops, remember?” He quirked a brow.
“Black ops was a long time ago, Jack,” Sam murmured.
His eyes narrowed. “Is that a subtle way of telling me that I’m old?”
“No,” Sam brushed a brief kiss against his cheek. “It’s a subtle way of saying that I’m going to worry about you, no matter what you say.”
Jack smiled at her and glanced at his watch. “Tell you what. I’ll make this quick and meet you back here in time for dinner in the mess. Chocolate Fantasy cake is on the menu and you know that I am not going to miss that.”
“All right,” Sam chuckled. “Dinner date it is. Shall we say… 19:30?”
“Yep,” Jack futzed with his watch for a few seconds. “All set.”
Sam looked skeptical as she eyed him. “Really?”
“Carter, please,” Jack rolled his eyes. “I can fly an F-15 in a war zone. You don’t think I can figure out how to set an alarm on a watch?”
She huffed out a laugh, holding up her hands as they stepped out into the hallway. “I apologize. I stand corrected.” She shut the door, heading down the corridor to the control room, Jack on her heels.
“That’s better,” Jack muttered in righteous indignation. “And anyway, Teal’c showed me,” he quipped, biting back a smile as her laughter rang out on the stairs. It was a fib on his part, but anything to make her laugh, especially when she was wound so tight.
She was all business again as they stepped into the control room. “Daniel,” she greeted the archaeologist as she leaned close to the monitor. “What have you got?”
“Hey, Sam,” Daniel smiled. “I just wanted to check in and let you know what I found out about Neper and his cronies.”
“Neper!” Jack exclaimed, clapping his leg. “That’s it!”
Sam cast a sidelong glance at Jack.
“Is he there? Is Jack there with you?” Daniel’s brows drew together as he leaned closer to the camera for a better angle.
“Hey, Daniel,” Jack stepped up to Sam’s left and nodded at the monitor. “Long time no see.”
“Yeahhh,” Daniel drawled, his gaze shifting to Sam and back again. “So, going back to good ol’ M35-5Y2, I hear.”
“Yep.”
“Another, uh, ‘diplomatic’ mission?” Daniel winced, shooting Sam a knowing look.
“Yep.”
Daniel pulled a face.
“Don’t side with her on this,” Jack frowned, his eyes narrowed.
“I’m not siding--”
“I saw that look,” Jack cut him off, glancing at the pair. He jabbed a finger at Daniel. “Siding.”
“Well,” Daniel said slowly, narrowly avoiding an eye roll, “I suppose that we are just--”
“I know what you are ‘just.’ Both of you,” Jack waggled an accusatory finger between them. “And I am here to tell you that it’s a non-issue. I will be there and gone before you can say… Chocolate Fantasy cake.” He shot a prominent glance at Sam.
Daniel winced, his gaze on Sam. “Chocolate Fantasy… is that… Do I even wanna know or is this something--”
“We have a ‘dinner date’ planned for tonight--”
“Okay, well, I don’t think I need the details,” Daniel held his hands up, cutting off Jack’s comment.
“In the mess, Daniel,” Sam shook her head, interrupting their conversation. She glanced at her watch. “He’s promised to meet me back here by 7:30. For cake and dinner so--”
“That makes me feel a little better,” Daniel sat back in his chair, releasing a breath. “I mean, I know that he is not about to miss out on cake.”
Jack, catching the subtle shift on Sam’s face and the set of her jaw, raised a hand above her head, pointing down at her so Daniel could see, mouthing, “Aaaand…”
“Oh, yes, and of course, the chance to spend time with everyone’s favorite astrophysicist,” Daniel shot them a cheesy grin.
“Nice try. Both of you,” Sam quipped, shooting a glance over her shoulder at Jack who was suddenly the picture of innocence and inaction. “So, Daniel, was there anything that we should be concerned with?”
Daniel shook his head. “Minor trading activity, but all of it looks on the up and up. Neper’s followers and cronies seem to have disappeared or are otherwise a non-issue.” He glanced down and appeared to be flipping through a notebook. “He did have one son… but it looks as though even he has gone on to… bigger and better… planets.” He glanced up, smiling as he met his friends’ gazes. “No sign of him here. Not for ages.”
“See?” Jack gave Sam’s shoulder a nudge. “Nothing to worry about.” He smirked. “So, you’d better have them set aside the biggest piece of cake they have because I am really gonna enjoy it tonight.” He glanced at his watch and raised a hand toward the monitor. “And speaking of… Daniel, I gotta go so I can get back for my victory lap in the mess.”
“Yeahhh, all right,” Daniel chuckled. His gaze shot to Sam. “We’ll talk later. Let me know if you need anything else, Sam.”
“Thanks, Daniel.” She smiled as the screen faded to black, her gaze shifting to the shuffling of officers in the gateroom.
“So, you had Daniel checking up on me?” Jack glanced at her with narrowed eyes.
“Well, it’s not really checking up on you if you haven’t left yet,” Sam quipped with a sweet smile.
“You know what I mean.” Jack’s eyes roamed her face. “Y’know, I don’t like pulling the age card, but you realize that I was making tactical decisions on ops while you were still making mud pies.”
“I never made mud pies,” Sam defended, rolling her eyes.
“So not the point, Carter,” Jack replied, ushering her into the corner of the room. He took her hands in his. “I appreciate the fact that you are worried about me, so worried that you got Daniel involved.”
“Daniel asked what was new and I just told him--”
“To run some intel?” Jack cut her off. “Yeah, I know.” His expression softened as he squeezed her hands. “Look, I swear to you, I will be fine. And do you want to know why?”
“Because of your black ops experience? Because of some stupid age difference that you bring up at times like this?” Sam expelled a breath. “God, Jack, if you even think pulling the ‘because I’m a man’ card on me, I swear that I will--”
“It’s none of those things, Carter.” His eyes traveled her face, making mad dashes between her luminous blue eyes and the soft coral tone of her lips (her favorite shade at the moment, he knew, Courageous Coral). “I will be fine because I am never going to not come back to you. Plain and simple.” He shrugged, a tiny smile playing about the corner of his lips. “Just like me.”
Sam burst into his arms, hugging him fiercely. “You are anything but plain or simple, Jack O’Neill, and don’t you ever forget it.”
“I don’t know. I kinda like you reminding me that I’m not,” Jack murmured into her ear before planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.
She squeezed him hard and pulled back, her hands resting on his chest, one hand absently futzing with his ribbons.
Jack caught a secretive smile from one of the new gate techs and he cleared his throat. “Making sure that my ribbon rack is presentable for the, uh, upcoming mission.” He glanced back at Sam, tipping his head toward the gate techs at the panel and the gate room beyond.
“Oh,” Sam glanced at her watch, and back at him,“speaking of, your escort should be here just about now.”
“I hope you haven’t called up half the base, Carter,” Jack groaned, glancing down into the gate room.
“Just one of the new recruits,” Sam replied, craning her neck. “And it looks like he’s here.” She tipped her head toward the Stargate.
“Just one person, eh?” Jack quirked an eyebrow.
“The rest of SG-3 are already waiting for you on the other side,” Sam confessed, frowning at his eye roll. “It IS standard protocol. Sir.”
Jack’s brow lifted wordlessly at her not-so-honorable use of the honorific, but he simply shook his head and waved a hand. “After you, ma’am.”
***
By the time that they’d entered the Gate Room, the Stargate had roared to life. Four SFs stood in pairs, off to either side. At the base of the ramp, a young man with tawny skin stood at formal attention, not moving a muscle as the two superior officers approached. “Sir. Ma’am.”
“Lieutenant Randolph, meet General O’Neill, head of Homeworld Security,” Sam replied. “You’ll be escorting him to the other side and will stay with him during the meeting. And you will then accompany him back to and through the Stargate. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Randolph popped off a crisp salute before turning to Jack and doing the same. “Sir. I’m hoping to read through all of your mission reports to familiarize myself with the work that’s come before. If my CO’s stories are to be believed, I’m sure I’m going to be a huge fan.”
“Oh, p-shaw, Randolph,” Jack waved off the praise. “We’re all just living the dream here, right?” He shot a glance at Sam.
“Randolph is new to the SGC,” Sam offered. “With medals for marksmanship.”
“Ah,” Jack nodded. “Well, then, let’s hope that the natives don’t get restless. We don’t need Randolph to waste those skills on a peaceful mission, do we?” He shot a prominent glance at Sam.
“You can consider yourself safe with me, sir,” Randolph promised. “This should be a piece of cake.”
“Better be,” Jack muttered. Catching Randolph’s eye, Jack tipped his head toward the gate, and with a nod, the younger man started up the ramp and toward the shimmering puddle. Sam handed him the cover that he would have forgotten and he tugged it on his head, his eyes and words for her. “Because I have a date with something sweet at 19:30 and I do not intend on missing it.” He drew his sunglasses from an inside pocket, securing them on the bridge of his nose as he murmured, “19:30, Carter.”
“Don’t be late,” Sam warned.
“What, and miss out on Chocolate Fantasy cake?” He held a hand to his chest, tipping his chin up dramatically. “Never. I shall return,” he lifted his hand. “And on time.” He gave Sam a swift, informal salute and disappeared into the event horizon.
***
Several hours later…
“I’m late, I’m late,” Jack groaned, the insistence of his watch alarm intensifying every throb in his head. His gaze flicked around the tall grass, which jutted out at odd angles from where he lay. Lay? Crap. He was going to be in so much trouble; he screwed his eyes shut tight.. “Ughh, I’m late.”
“Sir?” Randolph was at his side. Hovering. Waiting for the senior officer’s eyes to open again. “What’s that, sir?”
“For a very important date,” Jack expelled a breath as he fumbled to silence the alarm.
“Alice in Wonderland, right, sir?” Randolph guessed.
“Yessss,” Jack hissed, trying to diffuse the pain, “but also, truth. I had dinner plans tonight. And boy, is she gonna be pissed at me.”
“For missing dinner?”Randoph bunched up his jacket, tucking it beneath Jack’s head.
“More or less,” Jack muttered. “I’m really erring on the ‘more’ side, if you wanna know the truth.”
“You can blame it on me, sir,” Randolph replied, shaking his head. “It’s my fault. All of this. All my fault, so blame me. Not that that makes it any better.”
“Trust me, it won’t. Not for either of us,” Jack clamped his jaw shut, attempting to stave off a wave of pain. “What happened anyway?”
“What do you remember, sir?” The lieutenant dropped his pack, fishing for his med kit.
“I remember… the meeting. Diplomatic and boring, with an emphasis on the boring,” Jack blew out a breath, eyes fluttering as he forced himself into recall mode. “And we left. We… we, uh, followed some other guy… and…he…” Vague recollections of staff weapon volleys reverberated in his head.
“The Sikaran ambassador was killed, sir,” Randolph confirmed. “We were ambushed. We were right behind. You took a pretty good blow to the back of the head before I…” His head dropped in recrimination. “You got knocked out before I got us out of there.”
“Knocked out?” Jack winced, his hand absently reaching for his head. He stopped halfway there as a bolt of pain shot through him.
“Yes, sir. Unfortunately, sir.”
“Oy and after I just told her that I didn’t mean to get knocked out and captured the first time I was here. Now this,” Jack waved his hands over his prone body.
“Begging your pardon, sir, but this is something that you definitely didn’t mean to do,” Randolph remarked as he pawed through his med kit for anything and everything that might be of assistance.
“Nope, definitely not part of the plan,” Jack groaned, his eyes closing as a wave of pain washed over him.
“Mine, either, sir,” Randolph shook his head, gathering together the supplies he’d need for a field dressing. He had no idea how bad the General’s wound was, but he knew there was blood and the sooner he could clean it and cover it, the better off his senior officer would be.
“You’ve at least got an excuse, Randolph,” Jack groused.
“Sir?”
“It’s your first day,” Jack winced as Randolph carefully turned his head, examining the wound there. The way his head pounded, he’d swear that he’d lost part of it; and he was fairly certain that Carter would agree.
Randolph groaned. “My first day. I’m making quite the impression, then, sir.” He tore a couple of pieces of tape from the roll with his teeth and touched Jack’s shoulder. “This is probably gonna hurt, sir, but we need to get a bandage on your wound. And I'm not gonna lie, I tend to be a little tape heavy when wrapping presents and bandages, just so you’re forewarned.”
“At least you don’t have to splint it,” Jack groaned, flashing back to his first year at the SGC. “Do your worst, lieutenant,” he waved a hand at his head.
“I’m afraid I already have,” Randolph lamented as he placed a chunk of gauze over Jack’s wound, temporarily secured the gauze with copious amounts of tape to Jack’s hair, and began wrapping it with an elastic wrap bandage. “And because of that, here we are, sir, post-ambush.” He snatched the tape and began securing the wrap.
“Yeah, well, the way I see it is that you got us out of there alive. The head of the Sikaran delegation didn’t fare as well,” Jack pointed out.
Randolph nodded. “I appreciate that, sir. But General Carter charged me with keeping you safe. I hate the thought of letting her down.”
“Yes, well, I certainly get that,” Jack replied. “But Randolph, you can’t beat yourself up over this. As you’ve already discovered, off world missions are at best unpredictable. And at worst… oy, you don’t wanna know how quickly they can turn real, real bad.”
“Begging your pardon, sir, but this seems real, real bad,” Randolph said, re-packing some of his med kit.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing,” Jack waved a hand. “A blip on the radar.”
“Like my career,” Randolph muttered.
“How’s that, Randolph?” Jack shifted his weight, wincing as he turned his head, seeking the impossible, a comfortable position,
“My career, sir. It’s going to be a blip on the radar,” the lieutenant shook his head, adjusting his field jacket’s position beneath his SO’s injury. “I mean, I didn’t mean for us to get ambushed. I thought I’d picked the best way--”
“Nonsense, you did pick the best way out of there,” Jack interrupted him. “And hey, look… we’re both still here.”
“Yes, sir, and I got the head of Homeworld Security laid out flat. On my first day. My first day, sir.” Randolph expelled a breath, scrubbing his hand through his short hair. “I’ve had it. I mean, at the very least, it’s probably the end of my military career. Or at least my career at Stargate Command.”
“Oh, please,” Jack shifted his weight slightly, his breath coming out as a groan. “If I second guessed all the things that I didn’t mean to do but ended up doing anyway, accidentally or otherwise, I wouldn’t have a career in the Stargate program. Hell, I wouldn’t be here at all.” His eyes fluttered closed and another breath gushed out of him as his head lolled to the side.
The puddle of blood left in its wake stuck in the lieutenant’s gut like a knife, panic causing his muscles to seize. He hadn’t realized, even as he’d bandaged the general’s head, that so much blood had already been lost. His brain scrambled, forcing itself to run through triage scenarios for head wounds and blood loss. He knew that O’Neill’s chances were better if he was able to keep him lucid. Keep him conscious, keep him talking ‘til the CO and medics arrive.
“How far out, med team? Med team? Med team, this is Randolph, over.”
“Give ‘em time, Randolph,'' Jack ground out, easily picking up on the young lieutenant's frantic, not-so-low tones. “They’ve gotta get medics, med kits, gurneys, and people from the SGC through the gate and to us… hopefully, while not under fire.”
“They shouldn’t be under fire, sir,” Randolph shook his head.
“No?” Jack managed a chuckle. “We were.” He groaned and shifted his position. “Had to be someone that followed us from that meeting. Someone that waited for us or maybe someone at the meeting.”
“It was, sir. The tall gentleman who was dressed rather…”
“Randolph?”
“Um… ostentatiously?” Randolph suggested.
“Ostentatiously, you say,” Jack raised an eyebrow. “There’s a Daniel word for you.” He winced. “Probably a Goa’uld, then.”
“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant nodded. “He said his name was Nepri, son of Neper.”
“Well, that sounds… boring. Nepri, son of Neper,” Jack huffed out a painful breath. “Sounds like a bad B-movie sequel. The kind you don’t really wanna see, but you saw the first one. And you feel compelled but it’s ten times worse than the first, and you wish that they’d never filmed it, much less written it. In fact you kind of wish it was dead.”
“Well, it is, sir,” Randolph remarked.
“Is what, lieutenant?”
“Dead, sir. It… he, I mean.” Randolph shook his head. “No more sequel. I killed it. Him.”
“I know you did. Great job, by the way,” Jack expelled a breath.
Randolph shook his head. “I’ll never take any pride in it, sir.”
“Why’s that? You a MacGyver fan? Don’t like to use guns?” Jack huffed out a short laugh. “‘Cause if that’s the case, you are in the wrong line of work.”
“No, sir,” Randolph winced. “I let you get hurt, sir. My superior officer. I don’t know… I don’t know how I come back from that.”
“Accidents happen,” Jack grunted, shifting his position again, desperately trying to ignore the pain. “Like I said before, we’ve all done things that we didn’t mean to do and then had to live with the consequences.” His eyes drifted shut.
Randolph gave O’Neill’s shoulder a shake and at first there was no response. Panic gripped his chest and his hand went to the walkie. Before he could key it, the incoming SG team responded.
“Randolph, we are twenty minutes out. Keep your head down and keep yourself and General O’Neill safe, if you can.”
“We are safe at the moment, but the General is losing blood, fast. I… just.. Hurry. Randolph, out.” He glanced down at his senior officer whose face seemed to grow paler by the minute. “Sir? Sir?”
Jack’s eyes fluttered open and closed, focusing and refocusing as they landed on the young lieutenant. It was getting hard to concentrate; he was so tired and his heavy lids closed once more.
“Sir, what about you?”
Jack cleared his throat. “What about me, what, Randolph?”
“I mean… I’ll regret my actions here today, for the rest of my life… but how about you?”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, Randolph,” Jack wet his lips, “I kind of regret them, too.”
Randolph ducked his head as the older man’s eyes drifted shut again. Keep him talking, dammit. “Yes, sir, but I meant… well, you were saying that there were things that you didn’t mean to do and you… you had to live with the consequences. Like what kind of things, sir? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“What, you want a list?” Jack winced. “Right now?”
“Yes, sir” the lieutenant insisted. “I mean, it… it really would make me feel better.”
“Well, yes, dammit, anything if it will make you feel better,” Jack pulled a face and then grimaced with the pain caused by the simple action.
“Sir?” Randolph leaned over him. “Sir?”
“Randolph, you’re hovering,” Jack groused. “I really don’t do my best story telling when people are hovering.”
“Yes, sir,” Randolph nodded. “Hovering ceased, sir.”
“Okay, so… where was I… once upon a time...” Jack expelled a breath, wincing at the pain in his head as he did so. “Alright, well, due to circumstances, I might just tell the abbreviated versions here, but I’ll do them in order.” He held up a finger. “Number one on the ‘things I didn’t mean to do’ countdown: I left my service revolver in a drawer where my kid could get it…”
“Oh, no, sir.” A heavy sigh escaped the lieutenant and he instantly regretted the line of conversation. He expected that a career military man like the general would have some dark stuff in his past, especially in light of his black ops background; however, he never dreamed that the dark stuff was personal, deeply personal.
“Clearly, you’ve guessed the outcome,” Jack expelled a breath, groaning in pain .
“Sir, I…” Randolph sucked in a breath. “I’m… sorry. I’m just so sorry. I… I really don’t know what else to say.”
“There’s nothing else to say, lieutenant,” Jack said, shifting as he sought the impossible: a comfortable position. “It was a horrible, horrible accident. Obviously, I didn’t mean to leave the gun loaded and I didn’t mean for Charlie to find it, but he did and… I have to live with his death and the fallout from that bad decision of mine for the rest of my life.”
Randolph dropped his head, his eyes closed as he second-guessed his decision to keep the general talking. Maybe he’d just chosen the wrong line of questioning. Maybe he should come up with a different topic. Maybe--
“And that leads me to the second thing that I didn’t mean to do…” Jack tapped Randoph’s arm. “Are you ready for this? It gets better. So I retired from the Air Force, after Charlie died, because as you can imagine, I was having all sorts of issues… with myself, with my wife at the time, with making it through a day still breathing. Then one day, the Air Force comes knocking on my door again. They wanna recall me for one more mission, most likely a suicide mission. Wanna know what I said?”
“I might have an idea,” Randolph said slowly.
“Bingo,” Jack waved a finger in the air. “I said, yeah, sure, you betcha. I am sooo in,” He wet his lips. “Because what else did I have going for me? My kid was gone. My wife hated me and I couldn’t even blame her. I hated me. So, off I go to Creek Mountain, where they have got this wacky stone ring… thingy that a bunch of eggheads are trying to figure out and make it work. Finally, this nerdy guy with glasses and a bowl cut, does it. He makes it work. And next thing you know, I’m leading a team to, get this, another planet, another planet, Randolph, where I am going to stay behind and blow their Stargate to smithereens so no aliens will ever be able to come back through.”
Randolph nodded, familiar with sketchy details of the general’s legendary first mission. “So, what thing did you do that you didn’t mean to, sir?”
“I’m getting to it…” Jack bristled, expelling a breath. “What I didn’t mean to do was get drawn into the lives of the people on the planet. We were waiting for Daniel, the nerdy guy, to figure out the way back home, the gate address… See, it was missing a symbol… and meantime, we got to know folks and ended up helping defend them and their Stargate from attack from Ra. And somewhere in there, I started to care again… about people--my people, their people, the people on Earth. I wanted to defend the people of Abydos and keep my guys alive and get ‘em back home. And I wanted to make sure that Earth was protected… in case any more of those slimy snakeheads decided to come through and find us.” He wet his lips. “I didn’t mean to care again. Not so soon after Charlie… but there was a kid on the planet, Skaara. Made me think of Charlie and maybe what Charlie could have been. What he could have grown into.”
“Must have been hard, sir. Coming to that realization, I mean.”
“Oh, I’m not that emotionally intelligent, Randolph. At least, I wasn’t then. It’s taken me a lot of years to come to that conclusion. Along with a little help from… my friends. Which,” he raised a hand, “leads me into my next ‘thing,’ if you will.”
“What’s that, sir?”
“Friends, I suppose,” Jack closed his eyes tightly trying to block out a wave of pain that threatened to overwhelm him. A whoosh of air escaped him and he fell silent.
“Friends, sir?” Randolph prompted, clutching at Jack’s hand. “How do you mean, sir?”
Jack’s eyes opened. “Ah, yes. Things I didn’t mean to do, Randolph. Follow along. Make friends. I mean, c’mon, they’d handed me a suicide mission and then I go all soft and care about the kids on Abydos, about all people there. Even the geeky archaeologist who found our way there and then decided to stay behind with the wife he was given.”
“You mean, Dr. Jackson, right?” Randolph guessed, his eyes wide. “And wait...” The lieutenant held up a hand. “Did you say that he was given a wife?”
“I sure did and he sure was,” Jack grunted as he changed positions ever so slightly. “Sha’re. Beautiful girl. Sweet and shy, and Daniel didn’t want to leave her. So we left him behind. With her. That was after we blew up Ra and his ship instead of blowing up the Abydonian Stargate. Which I sort of… how shall we say, lied about when I got back.”
“Sir?” Randolph prompted. “Another one of those things that you didn’t mean to do, but…”
“Oh, yeah,” Jack huffed out a short laugh. “I didn’t really think about that, but yeah, you’re right.” He paused, eyes fixed in the trees overhead, mesmerized by the branches and their offshoots and interconnections. A metaphor for life? He was getting deep in his on-the-edge-of-unconsciousness state. “I retired again but that didn’t take because one of Ra’s cronies, Apophis, and his henchmen came through the gate and captured an airman and killed a few others. I didn’t mean to get reactivated, but my little fib about blowing up the Abydos gate made that happen.”
“I think I read about this. They thought that Apophis had come from Abydos so they wanted to send you back and make sure that you took out the gate, for real this time,” Randolph supplied.
“Yep. And without Daniel there, the SGC really didn’t have anyone to figure out ‘gate stuff and addresses and anything else that we might run up against. So, they called the Pentagon to recruit another egghead expert on the Stargate and assembled a team,” Jack groaned as a wave of pain washed over him, threatening to pull him under.
“And they put you in charge, sir, right?” Randolph prompted, placing a hand on Jack’s arm, trying to return his focus to his words and away from the pain. “So was that the thing you didn’t mean to do? Lead a team back to Abydos?”
“Close, but no cigar, lieutenant,” Jack winced, catching the sound of static and faint voices over Randolph’s walkie. His fingers clenched and unclenched, latching onto clumps of the long grass wherein they sheltered. “That Stargate expert from the Pentagon? Became my second in command that day… a woman, which seemed to be no problem at the time, and a scientist, which seemed to be the biggest problem, at the time.”
“Not a fan of scientists, sir?” Randolph chuckled.
Jack expelled a breath and winced. “They talk a LOT. Scientists.”
“And you didn’t get along with her? Your second, sir?”
“Quite the opposite, actually,” Jack remarked. “Which leads us to the biggest—and very best— thing that I didn’t mean to do, but I did anyway because I just could not help it.” He closed his eyes, a quiet smile forming on his lips, despite the throbbing pain in his head.
“Sir? You were saying?”
“Oh, yeah… well, I didn’t mean to fall in love with my 2IC because, hey, that is sooo against the regs, in any branch of service, Randolph, remember that. But y’know,” Jack sighed softly, “she was smart and beautiful and she laughed at my stupid jokes… saved my life a time or two or three or… ah, who remembers how many?”
“Kind of endears a person to you, doesn’t it, sir?” Randolph smiled.
“Yeah. We found out, kinda accidentally, that we both felt the same about each other, and after that… we fought it for years. Years. We both tried seeing other people, but we just kept finding our way back to each other like, well, like... magnets.” Jack’s eyes fluttered closed as he conjured a picture of her behind his darkened eyelids. He could almost see her now, running toward him, crouching at his side, reaching out, her hand sliding down alongside his cheek… her skin soft and warm and real against his own cool, clammy skin…
“Sir?” Randolph patted Jack’s face. “Sir?” He knew that the SG team was getting closer. He heard the walkie chatter but didn’t respond immediately. The team had GPS trackers and would find the general and him fairly easily, however, he didn’t know how extensive the general’s injuries were, so it seemed more important to keep his superior officer talking. “Hey, don’t cut out on me now, sir. We’re just getting to the good part. What happened with your 2IC? I mean, your CO must’ve been flipping out. Did you and your second get reprimanded or…”
“No,” Jack’s eyes fluttered open and he shifted restlessly. “Our CO was understanding because the work that we were doing was important and… well, we were always professional. Beyond professional, I’d say.”
Static on the walkie emerged into words. “Randolph, approaching your location.”
Nodding to himself, Randolph keyed the walkie, but stopped short of commenting as the general’s head slipped to one side. “Sir, sir?”
Staccato shouts punctuated the sound of running feet through tall grass and Randolph breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels. The general’s eyes fluttered and opened--maybe brought back to life with the sound of the walkie--and Randolph leaned closer, a hand on Jack’s arm. “Sir, the SG team is almost here.”
“Woo hoo,” Jack managed, half-heartedly lifting a hand, his chest deflating with a sigh.
“If you don’t mind my asking, sir, what happened?” Randolph queried, invested in the story’s conclusion.
“I think we got ambushed, lieutenant,” Jack answered, his eyes struggling to remain open.
“No, no,” Randolph shook his head. “I meant with your second. What happened, sir?”
Pounding feet and firm directives surrounded them and swarmed Jack, who was gripping onto consciousness as well as Randolph’s hand tightly.
“I married her, of course.” He looked up, tipping his head toward the beautiful blonde–currently decked out in an SGC team field uniform–who was presently kneeling down beside him. “Hey, Carter. I was just telling Randolph about you.”
“General Carter…” Randolph rose, his eyes wide as he backed away from the fallen senior officer.
“Jack…” Sam brushed her hand across his face and then called the medics closer with the cant of her head. “Over here. Now.” Her gaze returned to Jack’s face and her blue eyes filled. “You’re going to be fine,” she whispered, sounding like she was trying more to convince herself than him. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“Of course, I am,” Jack murmured, capturing her hand and squeezing it lightly. “Hey, did you meet Randolph here? Lieutenant Randolph meet General Samantha Carter-O’Neill.” He scrubbed a hand across his face, catching the look of panic on hers. “Wait… wait, you introduced us already, right? Right. Swear to God, Neper’s kid didn’t slip me a roofie like his old dad did.”
“Randolph,” Sam glanced up, sizing up the new recruit who had managed to keep him talking. “Thanks for keeping him conscious.You quite probably saved his life.”
“Ma’am… General Carter, I had no idea that…”
“...the director of Homeworld was my husband?” Carter finished. She shook her head. “You wouldn’t necessarily. We don’t tend to broadcast that fact to everyone and you’re new to the program.”
“Haven’t heard all of the base gossip yet, eh, Randolph?” Jack quirked a groggy brow.
“No, sir,” Randolph shook his head. “I had no idea.”
“Did you know that he’s a jarhead, Carter?”
“Yes, Jack, I knew that,” Sam squeezed his arm, glancing at Randolph.
“He’s lost some blood, ma’am,” Randolph’s mouth drew into a grim line.
“A jarhead saved my life,” Jack continued as he huffed out a laugh, pain shooting through his head. He expelled a breath. “Y’know, I think that I’m gonna have to rethink my whole stance on those guys because—”
“Jack?” Sam interrupted, placing a firm hand on his arm as she leaned close.
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and rest now,” she smiled sweetly, the threat underlying her words belying her expression. “That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jack glanced up at the lieutenant. “See how happy we are?” He coughed, which turned Sam’s attention and concerned countenance back to him before she barked an order over the walkie. “And that is why sometimes the things that you don’t mean to do but do anyway end up being a good thing. A very good thing. Get it?” He met Randolph’s gaze and the younger man nodded. “Like the promotion and commendation that I’m guessing you’re probably gonna get. Right, hon?”
“Jack…” Sam sent a warning tone his way. “Rest. Please.”
“Whoopsie.” He coughed again before his eyes came to rest on Randolph. “See how easy it is to blow that whole ‘bring your husband to work’ thing? She’ll never let me go off world again.”
“You’ve got that right,” Sam muttered as she stepped back and motioned Randolph away from Jack as the medics swarmed, prepping the rescue litter. “Take him straight to the gate and on to the SGC. Don’t wait for us or anyone else. Just go.”
“Will he be all right, ma’am?” Randolph cleared his throat.
Sam’s gaze flicked to the lieutenant as the medics and her husband disappeared down the deep grassy path that led to the Stargate, a couple of miles away. “He will, thanks to you, Lieutenant.” She placed a hand on his arm. “As your commanding officer, I commend you for keeping him conscious and talking. It probably kept him from lapsing into a coma and ultimately, kept him alive.” Her tone grew softer, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “And as his wife and someone that loves him very much, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Thank the general, ma’am,” Randolph shrugged as she shot him a quizzical gaze. “I just picked a topic, and once it came around to you, the general… well, he couldn’t seem to say enough about you.”
“What was the topic? Scientists that frustrate him?” Sam huffed out a laugh.
Randolph shook his head. “Things I didn’t mean to do.”
Sam’s brows furrowed as she chose her next words carefully. “Lieutenant, I know how much General O’Neill enjoys a bit of double entendre, but I don’t think--”
“Oh, no, ma’am,” Randolph hastened, sensing the conversation was heading for the weeds. “He talked about past mistakes and how he was able to turn them around, mainly, because he was trying to make me feel better about… well, I made a mistake and I was partially to blame for—”
“Lieutenant,” Sam held up her hands. “The general is a big boy and he is more than aware of the dangers that can lurk off-world, even on the most friendly of planets.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he continued. “Well, anyway, the last point that he made was the biggest one and the best one, he said… that being something that he didn’t mean to do but did anyway, and it worked out for him. Very well, he said.” He averted his gaze, feeling almost like he was violating O’Neill’s confidence.
“What did he say, Randolph?” Sam prompted at the young lieutenant’s sudden hesitation. “What was it?”
Randolph cleared his throat and met her gaze. “He said he fell in love with his 2IC.”
“He did, huh?” Sam glanced down briefly, a small smile playing about her lips as she cast a quick glance in the direction that they’d taken him. One other thing that she knew that her husband had done, but hadn’t meant to do: he’d learned how to love and trust again. And she was supremely glad to have been there for it and perhaps, to have been the inspiration of it and maybe more importantly, to be the recipient of that love and trust.
She was silent for a long moment before she spoke again. “So…?” She gestured in the direction of the Stargate and motioned Randolph toward the path.
“So… what, ma’am?” Randolph, P90 at the ready and vowing not to make the same mistake twice, fell in step with the general.
“Did you learn anything else from General O’Neill today?” Sam adjusted her grip on her weapon as they waded through the thigh-high grass.
Yes, ma’am.” Randolph thought for a moment. “In no particular order: always say yes to the base’s chocolate cake. Never be late for a meeting or check-in, though with any luck, someone will come looking for you if you are. And you have the power to turn a situation around. Sometimes you just need a little help from your teammates, who will probably end up becoming your friends. And sometimes, family.”
Sam hummed, her soft smile focused on the distance ahead. “I’d say that General O’Neill can add one more thing to his list of things he didn’t mean to do but did anyway.”
“Ma’am? What’s that?”
“I’d say he just made a stellar recruit out of you.” She turned, offering the same casual salute favored by her husband. “Welcome to Stargate Command, Randolph.”
~Finis~